Director’s New Year Message

Time flies, it is 2016 already. Recently, we have been making plans to strengthen engagement with our stakeholders in the community. We have recreated our website to offer a more modern appearance, and easier and quicker access to information and resources. We are also excited to introduce regular e-newsletters as a channel to maintain regular and efficient communication with our friends and partners in the communuity.

Since the celebration of our 10th anniversary in 2012, the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP) has undergone tremendous growth can capacity building in the past three years. In this first e-newsletter, we are proud to share with you our latest works, and encourage you to subscribe and share this email to keep informed of our upcoming plans, including a new website to examine social aspects of suicide prevention.

Our endeavor in surveillance of suicides and monitoring suicide prevention efforts in the community continues. Given the emergence of new channels for sharing news and information in this digital age, we put a strong focus on prevention efforts in the media, especially with online platforms. Most notable work includes the release of the newest “Recommendation on Suicide Reporting and Online Information Dissemination for Media Professionals” and our engagement with the largest search engine in Mainland China, Baidu, in designing effective preventive strategies of self-harm and suicides. It is encouraging to witness the improvement of media reporting by media professionals and the new initiatives of internet companies for suicide prevention.

Our education team’s dedication to the promotion and enhancement of mental health education among children and adolescents in schools is commendable. Our Centre has set up a Quality Thematic Network (QTN) supported by the Quality Education Fund to promote the wellbeing of our school children. We empathize with every case of youth suicide in recent years and see the unequivocal importance of investing in primary prevention as early as possible to help build mental resilience of our citizens.

Also, we have broadened our research for suicides and self-harm behaviours by examining the challenges brought to our citizens by various social issues, such as poverty, drug abuse and workplace injuries. This work is instrumental in designing proper and timely assistance for groups at risk.

2016 will be an exciting year to see continued progress in our work on a wider scale, including promoting wellbeing in our community. Let’s stay connected and make Hong Kong a kinder and happier place!

Paul Yip, Director of the HKJC Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention